The Promise
by yoli ravioli
Summary: Coming back after 5 yrs., Naruto finds Itachi with two children on him on his doorstep. ItaNaru along with other pairings and an OC or two.
1. Request

**Author's first "few" words (but you can also skip, I do it too in other fanfics I read so don't feel bad -if you do...)**

How strange to be posting an actual chapter now, I mean the last couple of times were of me apologizing on me not being able to finish a story... that makes me sad... What I _hate_ the most is when you come across that one mind blowing story, whether it's funny, breaks your heart and expects you to continue to read, or it's just a page turner (or you keep pressing "next chapter") but then find out that it hasn't been updated since like 2010 or something (I mean I've found _amazing_ stories but they haven't been touched since like 2005 or something). It's heart breaking, I understand, and I apologize once more for me not being able to put you guys (and girls) first...

No not really. I actually learned a lot in school, like for the fact that my writing is not as _good_ as I think it is... so that hurt my ego a lot, and I must say, my ego is not that big... it's small... you hold it in your hand kind of small... And then there's the fact that I have not had the best few weeks which just threw me to hell, I literally don't want to do anything if it'll be thrown back at me saying "Its not good enough", you know?

Yes I am ranting a bit, since my friends have not been texting me back (I am a loser, I know!), sorry! The passed couple of weeks have been hard on me the most with me not being able to graduate on 5/31 with my 2014 class or my friends, and then being told that the only class (damn speech class!) that I'm missing that caused me not to walk across the stage is not being offered at my high school so I have to go to another school to take it. To get into the class is that I have to take a 4 hour test on the computer, pass it so I don't have to pay $175 for the class, enroll into the little community college that you can _only_ sign up for in one building of many that's spread out in city... I have not had the best few weeks...

But the plus is that this chapter (which I have forced myself to look over) has _finally_ made its appearance onto this lovely website... So without further ado (that looks strange) here is a new story that is slowly fading from my mind. I hope you enjoy it and remember, review on what you think of the story. I'm going to shut up now so you can read the lovely thing.

Oh! And I just wanted to mention that I got this really cool pic. from Sekra on DeviantART who also has a Tumblr under the same name!

Enjoy! XD

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_**A Promise**_: **Chapter 1: Request**

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On a Saturday evening, the sun slowly nearing the end of its shift for the day, the moon slowly appearing to take the next shift; birds singing the last of their songs for the day while people pass by underneath the trees and power lines, closing their eyes at the soft songs, relaxing to the melody. Children slowly going inside at the calls of their older siblings, who are leaving to make memories or regrets -promising to play later. The roads slowly lighting up from the head and tail lights of the cars as they make their way to their destination; some to get away from the city -maybe to never return, some to go home -hoping that there is still a home to go to.

Somewhere, in a quiet Leaf Village Complex, a male is getting ready for his part time job as a host; the job is not a necessary, for he has enough money to go without this extra job, but a necessity. With blond spikes that can never be tamed no matter how hard you try, the deepest and brightest set of blue eyes that can put both the ocean and sky to shame lay above a set of three scars on each cheek, held together by a well-muscled yet slim body that is covered by tan skin all year long. Wearing a baby blue dress shirt open to show the white undershirt and dress pants, Naruto Uzumaki stood shocked at his front door, the door handle being held in his slacking hand. On the other side of the door stood a male -a year older than Naruto who had turned twenty-nine four months before- holding a small sleeping child wrapped in a blue blanket and a half asleep child leaning on his leg. "May we come in?" The owner of the voice whispered; his soothing voice that was missed, the voice that Naruto had longed to hear in the last five years.

Not trusting himself to voice his answer, Naruto nodded at the man, slowly stepping tot he side, watching the other male walk in carefully with the children hanging onto him. "Itachi what're you doing here?" Naruto asked when the closed the door behind the trio; the raven stood in the living room carefully looking at the little changes made to the apartment while Naruto looked over Itachi; little had changed from when Naruto had last seen him, _'Did he have those aging marks on his cheeks before?'_

"I have a favor to ask," the raven whispered slowly turning his head to face Naruto, "but is there a place to lay them down?" Itachi smirked when his eyes caught his eldest nearly fell to the ground having lost grip due to his heavy eyelids, catching himself before kissing the ground he grasped the pant material once more and resumed his standing position with his head resting on his father's hip, only for him to fall into the same state quickly.

"Y-yeah," Naruto moved to pick up the child before he became part of the floor, waking him up in the process, and showed Itachi to the guest room just passed the mouth of the hallway. Opening the door into the plain guest room, Naruto walked toward one side of the bed to lay the boy in; the layout of the room was that the bed faced the door with one lamp on either side, next to the door was a closet. As soon as Naruto placed the child in his arms onto the bed, he quickly went back to sleep; making sure that he wouldn't be cold and turning on the lamp to the side on, Naruto stepped away and turned back towards the door. Itachi -catching his eye- moved the pillows on one side, having the baby sleeping parallel to the headboard, then placing the pillows on the other side as a barrier before grabbing an extra blanket from the closet behind the door to cover him. Naruto gave a small smile at the act of a loving father that Itachi showed him, watching as he kissed the boys' forehead, whispering into his eldest's ear. Naruto turned away from the sight, knowing that it was a private moment between the three of them even if two were asleep, he was an intruder.

Having left the guest room and walking down the end of the hallway, Naruto grabbed a cordless phone from the table near the front door as he entered the living room area; he stood by the window in the living room, watching the evening sky slowly changing to colors of pink and purple, Naruto dialed the number to his part time job, saying that he wouldn't be coming in for the weekend before quickly hanging up before there were questions asked. Having a no longer need for it, he moved to put the phone back on the table by the door; he never noticed Itachi leaning on one side of the black couch. "The baby's name is Sasuke, he's eighteen months old, and the other is Sai, he's four years old," Itachi whispered, "I'm glad that you stayed here, Naruto."

Naruto sighed, turning to face the other man; dark gray eyes met vibrant blue, "Why are you here, Itachi?"

Itachi gave a small smirk at Naruto's attitude towards him, waving his hand toward the L-shaped couch; "I have a request, actually," he started, walking to one side of the couch that was closest to the TV but far from the window that Naruto stood at, "it is something that I know only _you_ can do for me."

Naruto followed Itachi but sat by the window, so both Itachi and Naruto were kind of facing one another; "You have a _wife_ don't you?" Naruto hissed, the burning memory slapping itself up front of Itachi walking out of a church with his new wife, "Why don't you ask her-"

"The reason that I am here is because of her." Itachi grounded out, his eyes showing the tint of red that only appeared when the normally calm man was completely angry; taking a deep breath, Itachi closed his eyes, "I left the courthouse a few hours ago, Naruto," slowly opening his now dark gray eyes, "she does not care for the children like you, she only wished to get in my bed."

Leaning to the back of the couch Naruto's eyes widened, "Why were you in court?" he whispered. Itachi placed his elbows on top of his knees, his head into his hands; Naruto, shaking his head, chuckled, "You haven't changed," Itachi's eyes could now been seen above his large, thin hands, "much." The old glare that would once scare Naruto was seen; then again, the glare lost its worth after he turned nine, twenty years ago. "I thought you got what you wanted, Itachi," Naruto placed his arms on the back of the couch, his knee moving to lay on top of the other, "married to the hottest women in Tokyo," Itachi pulled his hands away as they turned into fists, his eyes never moving from Naruto's, "having beautiful children, one right after you married too!" Funny, the cold air from outside must have come in through a crack from the door or window, either that or the heater turned off... must be the heater, the air is getting cold again.

"I was in court to finalize what she wanted from me in order for me to have full custody of the children; this afternoon I had packed all I could of the boys' belongings, along with my own, into one of the cars she let me keep. Whatever the boys' or I am wearing or packed in the car is all we have from my 'home', Naruto." Naruto sat flabbergasted at Itachi's response, "I have no where else to go, I wish to come home, Naruto," he whispered, the slight change in his eyes alerted Naruto of his change in mood; Itachi was begging. "I learned long ago where my home is, I left my home so I could finally be at peace."

"What do you mean 'finally be at peace'?" Naruto asked.

"What I mean is," Itachi said slowly, "that I left because of a promise I made to my parents so we could date." Naruto tilted his head to the side, a thin blond eyebrow raised, "You know that my parents did not approve of me coming out of the closet or reporting to them that I was planning on asking you out on a date," Naruto nodded slowly, "I had made a deal that if we dated that I would have to break up with you the day after you graduate from college and marry a women of their choosing and give them a grandchild."

"But you said you came from the courthouse today!" Naruto stood up, his voice rising with worry, "You had to marry her, that means you have to stay with her! Baka! You need to go back!"

Itachi leaned to the back of the couch, his hands lay clasped on his lap, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to lower your voice, Sai has been through a lot the last few hours, he needs his sleep." Naruto turned his head to look at where they laid the children to rest, "When I was not around Sai or if was not near me, she said some awful things that no child should hear," Itachi whispered. "Yes I divorced her; I only had to be married to her for two years so she would have my first born. Thankfully I was drunk when it happened, so I don't recall how it was done, and I made her take tests to make sure that he is mine when we found out." Itachi smirked.

Nodding, Naruto sat down, his eyes turning back to Itachi before going back to the room; "Then why wait five years?"

Itachi's smirk changed into a small smile, his eyes softening, "I remembered that you love children," Naruto blinked in surprise, "I had to wait for her to agree to carry another child, this time we went to the hospital."

"You _really_ don't like girls do you?" Naruto chuckled, his heart beating hard at Itachi remembering. _'__How could you remember what I said all the way from _high school_?'_

"I do not favor them, but I do not not like girls; she is just an exception to the rule." Naruto laughed, Itachi realizing just how much he truly missed the sound, "I had planned to file the papers when Sasuke had turned six months but I had to be called away to join Father on a business trip to the States; after that, I just became too busy with work."

"Giving her the opportunity to say things to Sai behind your back..." Naruto nodded; "But that still doesn't explain why you're here," Naruto turned his gaze to Itachi, "if you need a place to stay while you find an apartment, I'll let you stay here..."

"I came to ask you for a favor, Naruto," Itachi dropped his smile; Itachi picked his next few words carefully, knowing that it could either lead him to a door to both his and the boys' face -which is not something they need, or bring them back together -hopefully. "My Ex-Wife has removed herself from both Sai and Sasuke's life, she no longer wants nothing to do with then; so I wish to fill the void with someone that I trust." Itachi looked Naruto dead in the eye, "Will be willing to take Sasuke and Sai as your own children and help me raise them? I wish for you to be their other parent, I don't want them to struggle with their emotions like I did when I was young. You were the one who broke that wall and helped me tame them." Naruto looked to the window, biting his bottom lip in thought, "We don't have to live together, but I want you to be there for them like you were for me as a child," Itachi said, his voice hinting the little pain he covered, "if there is someone else, then I understand-"

"Do you want your own room or do you want to sleep in the same room as Sai and... Sasuke?" Naruto looked at him, eyes calculating, "There is no one in my life at the moment, though if you came five or six months ago it would have been a different story..." Naruto chuckled, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're OK with this then?" Itachi asked, wanting to make sure that he didn't mishear.

"Yes, I'm sure." Naruto stood up, a large smile on his face, "Now, you need to unload right?"

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I don't know _exactly_ how long this story will be, I just know that it's a multi-chapter, nor do I know where its also going. So bare with me on this. I will update when I can, so no weekly update :/

I hope that you liked it and are willing to leave a response on your reaction to it all all that jazz. Thanks!


	2. A new home

Sorry for taking so long! I'm glad that so many of you are on the watch for this story; I'm trying out some things for this story but I didn't think it would take this long to show it to you! I hope that you guys like this, again I'm trying some things out at the moment so I don't know if it's right or not.

Well anyway, enjoy the chapter!

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**_A Promise_: Chapter 2: A New Home**

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After a few trips from the car to the apartment floor on the third level, Itachi brought in the last bag into the living room before finally locking the front door. "Now that I think about it," Naruto muttered as he looked down the hall, his hand on his hip and the other on his chin, "the boys will have to move if you want them to have a room of their own." Itachi raised his eyebrow to the blond before him; eyeing the different change of clothes he now wore. In replacement of his suit was an orange t-shirt that was loose on his thin frame with loose fitting black sweats that had once lived in Itachi's dresser several years ago. "Yeah, for some reason whenever Kurma or Menma would visit or stay the night they would crash on the couch but leave their stuff in the bedroom..." Naruto sighed dramatically before turning to Itachi who had a smirk on his face.

"Will there be enough space for them?" Itachi asked, his face growing serious when he thought of his children. A look that Naruto loved in secret.

"Yeah," Naruto turned to the hallway, "come on."

The first door to the right in the hallway was to complete bathroom, across the hall was a guest room that would now be Itachi's room and where the children were currently sleeping. A few feet from the bathroom was a wide room that held two plain bright orange twin beds with the foot of the beds facing each other; between the beds was a medium sized window with pale blue curtains pushed to the sides that revealed the moon slowly peeking in. Behind the door was a large six drawer dresser with a single white lamp in the center; the room was a soft orange color, the room was plain but simple with off-white carpet that matched the other bedrooms. "We can paint the room whatever they want," Naruto stood in the middle of the room; Itachi stood just inside the room, his tired mind coming up with ideas on how to set up the room for the boys. "It's not that big but they'll have their own beds and stay nearby; I never wanted to be too far from the two fools," he chuckled, a sad smile slowly showing itself on his usually bright face. Shaking his head to rid of the memories, Naruto turned to look at Itachi; Naruto's face grew serious, "You sure this _is_ what they need?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation, no uncertainty in his voice; "You _are_ what they need, Naruto," a small smile growing on his thin lips, "you are, after all, the one who broke the Wall." Before Naruto could say a work to respond, Itachi turned and walked out into the hallway. "By the way," Itachi glanced behind him to Naruto, "is that room being used?" he nodded to the closed door directly across from the boys' new room.

Passing by Itachi out the room and down the hall, not glancing towards the door, Naruto responded, "Not at the moment." Knowing that he wasn't going to get another response, Itachi made sure the door behind him didn't close before going back to the living room to grab his boys' belongings and laying them in either side of the room for the moment. Closing the door after the last bag had been placed on the carpet covered floor, Itachi grabbed the last of the bags that were his own and headed to his room; standing in front of the door, Itachi turned to the kitchen to

see Naruto making a list of some sorts while walking around, biting on the lid of the pen. Turning to his right at the closed door, he slowly dropped his bags on the hardwood floor against the wall, making sure they didn't fall. Checking that Naruto was busy, he walked to the other door; opening it wide enough to stick his head in, Itachi noticed that someone practically lived there, but _not at the moment_. Looking around carefully, he smirked at the numerous posters that were nailed into the walls -from the little light that came in from the window on the other side of the room- that practically covered it up. To the right of the door stood a familiar looking desk that held a couple of picture frames in the corner; grabbing the closest one, Itachi's heart stopped at the sight of the picture, it was all three of them years ago. Itachi -who fell asleep while reading on the bed, Naruto -who curled into him, using him as a pillow while watching a movie, and Natsu -who sat between them, smiling as he took the picture with Itachi's phone. How he missed the young boy he thought of as the brother he never had, he was like a mini-Naruto without the birthmarks on his face... '_He was around four when the picture was taken, he has to be around ten..._'

Placing the picture back on the dark desk, he now knew whose room it is; closing the door, Itachi turned back to his own room, bringing the bags in before closing the door shut for the rest of the night.

The door at the end of the hall, left of Natsu's door and right of the boys' door, was the master bedroom, where Naruto gently closed the door after Itachi returned to his room.

Naruto noticed the sad and guilty look on his face when he saw the picture.

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"*Chichi," a gentle push with small hands could be felt on Itachi's left arm, "Chichi," Itachi opened his dark eyes to see his first born bouncing on his legs on the bed.

Waking up immediately, Itachi shifted from laying on his stomach to sitting up from his stop at the foot of the bed, feeling a shift on his right where Sasuke must have moved some time during the night; "What is it, Sai?" Itachi whispered, pulling Sai into his lap, his hand running though his short rumpled hair.

Having his father hold him close, relaxed Sai a bit; "I need to go potty, Chichi,"

Sai rushed, looking at his father with desperation in his eyes, tears slowly forming at the pain that is steadily growing.

Giving a small smile to the boy, Itachi picked Sai up and placed him on the bed -away from a still slumbering baby- before getting up from the bed without moving it in any way gracefully; taking off his jacket, that now held wrinkles, and tossing it onto the bed, Itachi reached over to Sai, pulling him back into his arms and left the room, leaving the door open. Walking across the hall to the bathroom a few feet from the bedroom, Sai was placed on the cold tile floor while Itachi told him about the room next door. "When you're done, I want you to go to that room, ok?" Itachi pointing which way to go; as Sai nodded, Itachi stepped away to let Sai use the restroom. When the door closed, Itachi returned back to his room he found a whimpering Sasuke who rolled off the bed when he spotted his father.

"Daddy!" Sasuke cried, running to Itachi's legs; having his tiny arms around his father's legs, Sasuke rubbed his face in the material before looking up, cobalt eyes shining with fear and happiness. Itachi knelt on the carpeted floor, Sasuke letting go of the clothing material and held out of his hands to Itachi -demanding to be picked up, not that Itachi wouldn't anyway.

Placing him on his hip, Itachi was able to feel a full diaper, "Someone needs a new diaper," Itachi gently poked Sasuke on the forehead just between his wide eyes, causing a round of giggles from him, erasing the fear from his eyes. Walking from the room once more, Itachi turned to the room next to the bathroom and entered; looking from one bed to the other, he realized that he had yet to choose which was whose. "I'll have ask Sai when he comes," Itachi said to himself, looking down to the squirming boy in his grasp, "let's get you a new outfit while I'm changing you." A few minutes later, a fresh diaper on Sasuke, Itachi was chasing him around the narrow room when Sai walked into the room; "Sai," equal dark gray eyes turned to him, "which bed would you like?" Itachi motioned to the twin beds, one having a large lump moving under the covers.

"That one," Sai replied after a minute, pointing to the bed that is first seen when the door opens, "so Ototo can sleep longer."

Itachi nodded, pride growing at the thoughtfulness of his eldest son for his younger sibling, watching over him without even being told to do so; "Now," Itachi turned to Sasuke, smirking when the youngest tried to hide under the blankets of Sai's bed, "help me dress your brother." Sai gave off his own smirk, nodding before slowly walking over to Sasuke's hiding spot; Itachi turned to one of the suitcases that held the boys' clothing and pulled out a set of clean clothes for them. Turning back to the boys, he noticed that they were staring at the door -Sasuke mouthing something too soft for him to hear, Itachi placed the clothes on Sai's bed -beside the exposed naked Sasuke- and turned to see what had their attention.

"Hey," Naruto blushed under the amount of stares he had his way, "I'm going to start breakfast and was wondering what you wanted to eat." Naruto looked to Sai, a smile on his bright and nervous face, "What do you say, little guy?"

Sai turned to Itachi, his eyes showing uncertainty, this is the first time he would get to choose what he would like to have; "We'll have whatever you normally have, Naruto," Itachi answered for them.

Naruto sighed softly, "You sure?" When Itachi responded with a nod, Naruto turned to leave but stopped, remembering something, "Oh, is there anything that you guys need? Any kind of snack you like or favorite food since I'm going to the store after breakfast."

"Not at the moment," Itachi turned to grab the clothes, "I will mention if there is something that we need before you leave." He turned to the blond with a smile smile before slowly walking over to Sasuke, dressing the fidgeting child that was held in place by his big brother that was tickling him.

"Alrighty then," Naruto smiled at the trio, continuing his walk down the hall towards the kitchen; when arriving, Naruto started pulling out what he could make for breakfast. On the counter were a row of eggs and a bag of rice, ready to be used; sighing to himself, Naruto muttered about the extreme need to go to the store. Pulling out the necessary equipment, Naruto started working, humming to himself; Itachi walked into the kitchen, having told the kids to watch some cartoon on the TV in the living room, after changing clothes.

Now in a black t-shirt and low riding pants, he leaned on the island that separated the kitchen from the dining room, watching as Naruto swayed his hips, nodding his head to a song that only he could hear. "You know what you're doing?" Itachi smirked, trying to hide the tightening in his chest as second long flashbacks started to show _past_ Naruto doing this years ago, when he could pretend to be carefree.

Naruto froze before recovering quickly, regaining control of himself he whipped his head around to face a smirking raven, his eyes glaring at the man; "Of course I do!" he huffed, turning back to the eggs on the pan.

"I'm just asking," Itachi could imagine the face that Naruto was making; sky blue eyes completely concentrated on the eggs in the pan, making sure that they were perfectly rolled with his pink tongue peeking out of his lush lips, "out of worry. I don't want to feed the boys a monster instead of actual food," Itachi covered his mouth, trying to hold back a chuckle when Naruto snapped his head up, "that you made last time."

Naruto completely turned to him, face red with anger or embarrassment Itachi couldn't tell, but it pleased him; having been forced to be surrounded by emotionless people for nearly five years made him realize just how much Naruto had made an impact in his life. "That was _one_ time, Teme! And I told you to _never mention it again!_" Naruto fumed, threatening to throw the metal spatula at him, "Besides, I learned how to cook; you're not the only one who took care of a kid."

Itachi felt cold water wash over him; it suddenly became hard to breathe. "Oh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at the change of tone; Itachi looked away, a blank mask falling easily just as it did all those years ago, "You have your own?" Itachi clenched his hands into fists; '_If he's _happy_, that's all that matters... Should have asked before I came over, I'm such a fool!_'

"No!" Itachi looked back to Naruto, worry shown in his turquoise eyes, "Well, not exactly," Naruto muttered, shaking his head he turned back to the stove to turn it off just as the rice cooker beeped that it was done. Naruto pulled out the plates and small bowls from the cabinets right of the stove; Itachi sighed, knowing that he'll have to be patient if he wanted Naruto to come out and talk to him. He had an idea who the child was, the evidence is all over the room he saw last night; the little boy who could have been his long lost younger brother. '_Someone else has filled in the gap that I created._' Itachi turned to leave the kitchen and enter the living room just next to the kitchen; Itachi was able to grab the boys' attention, telling them that breakfast was ready. Naruto had already set the plates down on the dining table when the trio came in, and was returning with drinks for them; "Sorry, I normally have more food for breakfast," he gave a small smile.

"This is fine, Naruto," Itachi said, picking up Sasuke and placing him at the end of the table where a booster was placed, "here, Sai." Itachi sat at the corner of the table, Sasuke to his left, Sai to his right and Naruto sitting across from him. Naruto smiled before passing out the cups, Naruto was thankful that he had kept Natsu's sippy cups; he cleaned it before placing it in front of Sasuke, filled with orange juice like the rest of the cups.

"*Itadakimasu," all four said -one way or another- when they broke the chopsticks, except Sasuke who had a spoon.

They ate silently, if one ignored Itachi nagging at Sasuke to eat instead of playing with his spoon and Naruto chuckling at the sight; Sai kept his head down, facing the food, but kept a close eye on Naruto. He had been told about this man, seen pictures of his, by his *Obaasan when they would visit and his his Chichi was busy with *Ojiisan; this is the person that Chichi wanted to be with, not his *Haha. "Sai," dark eyes widened for a moment in shock, turning face to his father, "if you're done, you can go and play," Sai looked down to his bowl, seeing that he had eaten everything in it. Sai nodded, slowly getting up from his seat, "Drink your juice before you leave." His father told him softly, pointing with his chopsticks; Sai noded once more, picking up the cup and draining the contents.

Itachi had noticed Sai staring at Naruto, he wondered if he should have told him about Naruto, but at the time he didn't know if Naruto would let him in. Perhaps now is the time to tell him, he hates to keep things from his boys, even if they wouldn't understand the situation at the moment or at hand. "Daddy!" Itachi turned to Sasuke, seeing the boy wave his spoon in the air, an innocent smile on his face with bits of rice sprinkled on his chubby cheeks. "Daddy!"

From the corner of his eye, Naruto could be seen trying to hide his laughter by eating a slice of egg, Itachi didn't mind that he was being laughed at by Naruto, it made him question how he last five years without hearing it. "Good boy, Sasuke," Itachi reached out and rubbed the food from his face -seeing that most had landed on him than in his mouth, "you want to play?" Sasuke dropped the spoon on the floor as his arms came up, his tiny body jumping up and down on the booster seat. Itachi scooted back in the chair some so he had enough space to get to Sasuke without getting up; plucking the baby up and set on the floor, Itachi told him to pick up the spoon and lay it on the table by his bowl. When Sasuke ran after Sai, Itachi leaned to the back of his chair, yawning and rubbed his face.

"Didn't get much sleep?" Naruto asked, placing the chopsticks on top of the bowl, he whispered "*gochisosama deshita" under his breath; looking at Itachi, elbows on the table with his head in his hands, Naruto Itachi his full attention. "So what happened?"

Itachi too whispered the same words before lacing his fingers on his knee, legs crossed, his back to the chair; "I finalized my divorce yesterday, I -as of now- have _full_ custody of the boys," he said, his voice lacking emotion that Naruto quickly picked up, "in exchange that I give up the house given by my parents as a _gift_ and *five million yen for herself." Naruto widened his eyes, "That's cheap, but it doesn't matter now; I have my boys and they won't see _her_ again." Itachi spat out.

Naruto nodded, "She didn't do anything to them, did she?"

Itachi sighed, looking out the window to his right, "I heard that she would say things to Sai when I was not with him or if he was alone," Itachi grit his teeth, "I was not aware until we were in court when the judge asked him some questions..." Naruto nodded once more, "I didn't think that you would still be here or even allow us to stay here," Naruto froze at the sound of a thankful Itachi before blushing and giving a laugh while rubbing the back of his neck, waving it off, "I didn't want this to happen to them, I had intended to file for the divorce years before, just after Sai turned six months, but things kept pushing it back."

Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion, "So soon? I mean, your marriage had just started then and you were starting a family with the one you wanted-"

"Kami no!" Itachi shifted forward, hands slapping on the table shocking Naruto, "The one that I wanted to marry, even _now_, is sitting across from me..." Naruto blinked, his mind blank at the statement, "I _never wanted_ to marry _someone other than you_, Naruto," Itachi said softly, sorrow reaching his eyes, not understanding that he has to explain this to Naruto. Shaking his head mentally, '_I left him with a note, not explaining anything..._' "The only good things that came out of it, were the boys and -thankfully- being able to be with you again, even if you're with another." '_Natsu could be the other person living here, but I need to make sure..._'

Naruto sat up, his heart pounding at the sincerity that rang in Itachi's voice; "What do you mean? I'm not with anyone, Itachi," Naruto breathed out. Looking down at the table, biting his lower lip, trying to figure out when he told Itachi had come to this conclusion; an epiphany occurred when he remembered seeing Itachi turning away from Natsu's room and the question about his cooking. "Oh," Naruto smiled and looking at Itachi, "I don't _exactly_ have a child of my own, I kind of took on Natsu," Itachi relaxed in his seat, "he lives with me, or well _us_, now."

Itachi closed his eyes, a small smile emerging on his face, "I see," he whispered, '_perhaps there is still hope_,' opening his eyes, he looked at Naruto with something that he couldn't quite place, "I had hoped that someone would stay with you; I know how much you hate being alone or being surrounded in silence more than necessary." Naruto felt his chest warm, looking away from the happy eyes that caused him to blush more. After a few minutes, with the sound of Sasuke trying to talk to Sai who was asking him about the cartoons on the TV, Itachi coughed in his hand, "If I may make a request," Naruto snapped back to him, feeling the awkwardness filling the room, "it seems that Sasuke is low on diapers..."

"Oh!" Naruto got up from his seat, looking around for his list of items to buy, "Here," Naruto handed the list to Itachi along with a pen when found, "just write whatever you guys need." Naruto nodded, "Do you want to come with?" Naruto asked, shifting from foot to foot, "In case you see something that you might need that you didn't think about before..."

Itachi chuckled at the flustered Naruto, "No, this is all that I need at the moment, I need to help the boys unpack and fully settle in."

Naruto nodded, "Right, right," rubbing the back of his neck, a bright smile shining at the next question, "Perhaps next time, then?"

"Next time," Itachi promised, handing back the list with his request.

* * *

Five minutes later after a red faced Naruto had fully left -having to return when he forgot his keys, then his wallet and phone- Itachi sat by Sai who was laying down in the corner of the L-shaped couch; Sai turned away from watching Sasuke, who was standing fascinated by the TV a few feet away, to his father. "Chichi?" Sai sat up.

"What do you think about Naruto?" Itachi asked slowly after a minute; he had an idea on how he should tell Sai of the new arrangement.

Sai moved to sit on Itachi's lap, his head laying on his father's chest, hands curling onto the shirt; "I like him," Itachi blew out air he didn't know he was holding, "he's not scary like *Oji Deidara," Itachi couldn't help but snicker at the reason, "he's umm," Sai scrunched his eyebrows trying to look for the right word.

"Bright?" Sai nodded, "I know, I thought the same when I first met him when I was a little older than you." Itachi leaned back into the couch, his eyes moving to Sasuke who giggled before turning to them and ran to the empty spot next to him on the couch.

"Really?" glancing to his eldest, Itachi smiled a bit at the amazement shown on Sai's face; Itachi nodded, "Did you like him?" Itachi froze, "Do you like him, Chichi?"

Itachi closed his eyes, a soft sigh coming from his lips, "If Naruto was a girl, I would have her be your mother instead of that _other_ one," Sai blinked, not fully understanding, "but sadly Naruto is not a girl, so it is not possible; I had hoped to have you with Naruto when you were still just a baby like Sasuke is but that didn't happen." Laying his head onto the shoulder again, Sai watched as Sasuke tried to climb to the couch to sit next to them; "I'm happy that Naruto let us stay here, I don't want you or Sasuke to go through what I did when I was your age, Sai," Itachi whispered.

"Daddy!" Sasuke cried, his upper body barely reaching the top of the couch, his sapphire eyes watering, "Daddy..." the voice wavered as the tears started to fall over, his breathing sounding like little hiccups.

Shaking his head, Itachi reached over and picked up Sasuke with one arm and helped him get his knees to touch the couch cushion, "Better?" Itachi brushed away the tears, Sasuke giggled before curling onto Itachi's side, his thumb going into his mouth as he returned to watching TV. "Naruto is willing to help me raise the two of you, Sai," Itachi ran his hands through both of their hair, receiving a sigh of contentment.

"You're not leaving are you?" Sai asked hesitantly, eyes drooping at the slight message.

"Kami no," Itachi bent and kissed Sai on the forehead, "you two are a part of me, Sai, I will _never_ leave you alone!" He whispered into the soft, puffy hair, "I love you two too much to do such a thing."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

*Chichi -Father

*Itadakimasu - I gratefully recieve

*Obaasan -Grandmother

*Ojiisan -Grandfather

*Haha -mother

*Gochisosama deshita -Thank you for the meal

*Five million yen -$49,004.60 in USD (7/5/14)

*Oji -Uncle

I hope you guys liked the chapter, again sorry that it took so long; had to do some research and write down ideas for much _much_ later chapters down, lol. I hope that the next chapter will come out soon for you guys.

Don't forget to review!


	3. A New Routine

Didn't you'd think you would get an alert so quick, huh? Ha ha! Thank you for the reviews, or PMs, on the story so far, I'm glad that you're liking it so far! I know that this story is a little slow (on the 3rd chapter still on a two day weekend) but I am trying to pick up the speed some, so please be patient. It kinda shocked me on how long this chapter is, and it's not even everything that I had planned to write from the outline too!

Oh, I want to thank a certain _awesome_ lady dude -_**A Soulless Poet**_- for being my Beta and combing through this chapter; you can thank her for it to come out so quickly, I would have came around to it a couple of weeks after I had it all written out... curse laziness!

I hope you enjoy this story, as always!

* * *

**_The Promise_****: Chapter 3: A new Routine**

* * *

Sunday, midmorning

* * *

Nearing ten in the morning, having eaten a little more than thirty minutes before, Itachi had found Sasuke's toys in the few boxes lined up in their new room; taking them out and scattering them around the living room, Itachi told Sai to make sure he doesn't leave the room while he unpacks their things. Pulling out boxes that are books and toys outside into the small hallway Itachi started to open the suitcases on the beds, pulling out the neatly folded clothes and placed them in the large dresser; half of the six drawer dresser belonging to Sai, the other half belonging to Sasuke. Arranging the clothes by thickness, he moved from Sai to Sasuke; the only interruption being when Sai called for his father from the mouth of the hallway, too afraid to walk over to the room with the boxes lined against the wall, that they were thirsty. Itachi went to the kitchen to see if there were drinks in the fridge or pouches of juice, when seeing that there weren't any, he hoped that Naruto had written it down on his list; '_Now that I think about it, the list was front and back…_'

Going back to the fridge, where he saw half a carton of orange juice from this morning. Itachi pulled out a cup for Sai and asked for Sasuke's cup. Sai walked from the kitchen to a fussy Sasuke in the living room, and poured the juice in the waiting cups. Following Sai back to the living room, making sure that he put it on the end tables next to the TV that was playing a cartoon for Sasuke; Itachi called Sasuke over to him, smiling when he saw his child stand up quickly and running to him. Forgetting the cup, Sasuke hugged him like he didn't see him for hours and not half an hour!

"Here, Sasu-chan," Itachi said, handing the cup to him, Sasuke taking a big sip, his hands combing through the thick strands.

"Chichi," Itachi turned to Sai, looking like he wanted to join but held himself back; Itachi felt his chest go cold, seeing his son holding himself from throwing himself into his father's embrace, "Are you almost done?"

He held out his arm for Sai, motioning for the oldest to join him. "I need to bring out Sasuke's other toys and your books, why do you ask?"

Sai quickly walked into the embrace, laying his head on his father's shoulder, breathing in his father's scent, his body easing slowly; "Sleepy," he said into Itachi's neck, his arms trying to hug his father close to him.

Kissing him on the head, like he did earlier, Itachi whispered into this fluffy hair, "You can sleep on the couch, baby," Sasuke moved to Sai, resting his head on his back, rubbing his eyes, "Even Sasu-chan is sleepy." Sai yawned, "Come on, you can sleep in my room;" picking them up carefully and slowly, Itachi walked to his room, his back rubbing against the wall to his room due to the boxes on the ground. Thankful that he didn't close the door to his room, Itachi walked in, walking to the bed until his knees touched the edge and slowly lowered himself until they touched the bed before laying them down on it. When Itachi pulled away slowly to see that Sai was knocked out, Sasuke was half way there; Itachi smiled at the sleepy boy, tapping him on the nose.

"Daddy?" Sasuke moved his borrowed sippy cup away, rubbing his eye with his free hand.

"Yes, baby," Itachi moved Sai up onto the pillow, kissing him on the forehead.

"Mommy?" Itachi froze; his eyes wide when he turned to Sasuke who looked at him.

"Where's mommy?" he asked, Sasuke smiled, "Mommy isn't here."

"Mommy?" Sasuke asked again, tears forming around his *navy eyes.

Itachi cursed at the Uchiha genes, "Mommy is not coming back," Sasuke started to whimper, he loved his mother even when she made him cry. "But, Papa is coming back, Sasuke," Itachi hoped that Sasuke would soon forget her.

"Papa?" Itachi moved to Sasuke, grabbing the empty cup and placing it on the nightstand next to the bed, laying Sasuke in the middle of the bed, pulling Sai's arm over Sasuke to hold him in his sleep.

"Yes, Papa is coming back, not mommy," Itachi said slowly, bring up the blanket he used the night before and covered them. Kissing Sasuke on the forehead, Itachi sat on the bed, running his hand through Sasuke's hair; "Papa is going to be with us now, not mommy." Ten minutes later, when Sasuke stopped whimpering and fell asleep in his brother's grasp, Itachi walked out of the room after closing the curtains a bit –not wanting it too dark in the room, but not too bright either. Sighing, Itachi returned to the boys' room and finished pulling out their things; when coming out to the hallway to start bringing in the boxes one at a time, he noticed that the TV was still on. Walking to the living room, he changed the channel to the news unconsciously; he had forgotten that he finalized a divorce just two days ago, on a bright Friday afternoon.

"A_s you can see, we are waiting outside the Uchiha mansion, waiting for Uchiha Itachi to come out with both boys as they leave,_" said a female reporter.

"_We have been waiting outside for two hours now, and still no sign of either Uchihas, sooner or later, they will appear and we will be here to show their reactions of the divorce that has been done just a few hours ago,_" says a confident male reporter.

"_Oh! I see someone coming out,_" says the female reporter, "_its Uchiha Madara!_" She quickly fully turns to the gate, waving her hand to catch the Uchiha's attention; wearing a slick looking suit, with matching midnight black pants and glossy shoes. Uchiha Madara walked towards the gate with his signature black cane with the family crest sitting on the handle. "_Uchiha-sama,_" she breathes, "i_s it true that your nephew, Uchiha Itachi, has had a divorce from his wife –Uchiha Ino– after five years? How do you feel about this?_"

Just by looking at the man's face, the reporters could already tell that something was up, the Uchihas always had something under their sleeves; "A_h, I see that the grass that my family and I love is starting to die under your feet,_" he man tsked, "_you're even ruining our little family reunion._"

"_Uchiha-sama,_" a male reporter moved next to the women, giving a little shove, "_what will happen to the boys? Is there another women on the side, is she going to take the place of Uchiha Ino-_"

Madara raised his hand, stopping the man from continuing, "_That _woman_ has been removed from the Uchiha family tree, she will no longer be referred to as Uchiha, so please take that out of your small memory of_ Uchiha Ino." Giving a cold smile towards the man; he turned to the cameras his eyes softening, "_My beloved nephew is returning to the one that he called his other half, significant other, whatever you wish to call it,_" he rolled his hand that was free from the cane, "a_nd I hope that he will be given the peace that he has desired for so long._"

"_Uchiha-sama-_"

"_Plus, my nephew has already left,_" it grew quiet, causing a smirk to grow on his lips, "I_tachi left two days ago, the divorce was two days ago-_"

The female reporter cut him off, "_I don't understand! The conference from today-_"

"_Was not a lie,_" Madara glared at the women, causing her to step back, "i_t was a simple delay to keep you _fools_ away from him as he left._" With that said, he gave a small smile into the camera before walking back to the mansion, whistling a tune as the reporters stood shocked at the gate.

Itachi smirked at his uncle from Naruto's living room, the one person who wished him to be his own person –like Naruto did. Turning the TV off, he returned back to the room, feeling better now that his uncle was behind him all the way now.

* * *

Being thankful that he lived on the third floor instead of the sixth, he would think at times like this, was good! Carrying as many bags as he can, Naruto stumbled up the stairs, tripping here and there or over estimating the step. If anyone thought that someone who has lived here for years could remember going up and down the stairs like the back of their hand, they wouldn't have a problem, they haven't met Uzumaki Naruto. Sighing with relief when he reached his floor, Naruto slowly set the paper bags down on the ground just outside the door he searched for his house keys, not seeing the curtains move in the window a foot from the door. Finding the key, a smile on his face, Naruto put it in the key slot when the door opened to a smirking raven; "Ah," Naruto said slowly, his face turning red, "hi!"

"Baka, what are you doing?" Itachi bent down and grabbed the bags from the floor and brought them in, placing them on the table.

Naruto stared, part of his mind coming up with an excuse the other half having bad thoughts on Itachi's skin that wasn't covered by his jeans. "Ummm," hearing Itachi snicker snapped him out of it, "I forgot you were here, Teme!" Naruto crossed his arms.

Itachi nodded, looking convinced, "Of course, Naruto," said blond huffed, "where's the rest of the stuff?"

Naruto jumped a bit, "In the car, I'll be right back!" Naruto ran back down the stairs, his hand on the rail so he wouldn't fall too hard –the stairs had it out for him; coming back up the stairs he noticed that his neighbor Hinata was out watering her plants. "Hinata-chan!" poor girl jumped in the air at the sudden shout, her light purple eyes brightened at the sight of her neighbor.

"Uzumaki-san," she bowed, a smile growing on her angel-like face, "how are you?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head dramatically, "If you prefer to confuse me with my brothers then call me 'Uzumaki-san', Hina-chan!" the grown man pouted, causing a giggle from the women.

"Gomen, Naruto-san," she covered her mouth, trying to stop the laughter.

Naruto smiled, "I guess that'll be the closest I can get out of you, huh?" he shrugged his shoulders, "Ah well, I've been fine, a little busy the last day or so." He walked over to her, having forgotten about the waiting Uchiha in his apartment behind him. "You?"

Continuing to water her plants beside her, "I'm going to be watching my niece, Hanabi for the week, Neji-nii is going to a company meeting until next week."

Naruto sent her a wistful smile, he knew that this Neji was never easy on her but was the closest thing she had to an actual family; "I'm sorry, but you and Hanabi are close, right?" Hinata nodded, a small smile on her face, "Well, you can take her out to the park or movies or doing something really cool!"

Hinata turned to Naruto, pale eyes smiling, "There is this movie I heard she wanted to see coming out this week…"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I bet she'll like it! See, you can be the best *Oba for her!" Naruto cheered her on.

"Naruto," both turned to see a tall raven waiting outside Naruto's door, his eyebrow raised; when seeing Hinata, Itachi nodded her way, "Hinata-san." Jumping at her name, she bowed, returning the greeting; "if you need help you could've asked, Dobe."

Naruto gasped and started stomping his foot, glaring towards Itachi who smirked at the reaction; Hinata looked between the two, it was as if Itachi never left, '_Why is he here? Why is he in Naruto-san's home?_'

"I'll talk to you later, eh, Hina-chan?" Naruto continued to glare at the man before turning to her, smiling, "We'll have dinner again, sometime this week or next week, yeah?" Having her nod for yes, Naruto jogged back to his apartment, sticking his tongue out at the raven before shoving the bags at him. When Naruto ran back to the stairs, he waved before disappearing; Hinata looked towards his apartment and saw a little boy walking out rubbing his eye –as if momentarily blinded by the sun –before walking back into the apartment when he was called.

"Sasuke, come back inside!"

* * *

A few minutes after Itachi put the flat box under his bed with the rest, suitcases along the wall in his room, he met a sleepy Sasuke when he walked out of the rest room, having finally taken a shower; "Hi, there," Itachi bent down to check his diaper, "I'm sure you ate _food_, Sasu-chan," Itachi sighed. Picking up the boy in his arms, being careful not to squeeze the diaper and placed him on his own bed, "I think there's one more," Itachi prayed that there was one more diaper, guessing the rest were somewhere in his previous house.

"Daddy?"

"Hold on," Itachi sighed, his hand feeling the diaper underneath his bottles, "I found one!" he huffed, waving it around proudly. "Let's change you…" Itachi shook his head, "no, you need a bath first." Turning to the dresser, Itachi pulled out a set of clothes consisting of a dark blue t-shirt and white shorts; picking up the baby once more in his arms. He made his way for the restroom and closed the door. Stripping the baby of his clothes and heavy filled diaper, Itachi started to fill the tub and placed Sasuke into the tub, slapping at the water flowing down from the tap. Quickly, Itachi left the room to grab a plastic bag for Sasuke's diaper before throwing it in the trashcan in the bathroom.

When he came back Sasuke looked up and smiled, "Daddy!" tossing the bag, Itachi settled down on the side of the tube, stopping the water when it was half way up Sasuke and grabbed his soap, and started to clean the baby.

Twenty minutes and two hate filled screams later, Itachi walked out with a sparkling clean Sasuke who giggled nearly every second, showing his father that he was clean. Itachi sat the boy on the couch, turning on the TV when a shadow passed by the window. Itachi got up from the couch, telling Sasuke to stay where he was, and went to the door when he heard a sigh before a key going into the slot. Smirking, Itachi shook his head and opened the door, surprising a certain blond.

* * *

When Naruto walked in with the last bag, Itachi has already started pulling the groceries out of the bags; in his hand, at the moment, "What's this?" he looks at Naruto with a straight face, but had a confused look in the eyes.

Naruto closed the door behind him, locking it, before walking over to the table placing the last bag down before looking at Itachi; "Plastic chopsticks…" Naruto said slowly, "I thought you could read…?" Naruto taunted, giving his playful smirk when Itachi glared.

"I know that," he said slowly, "I mean why is this here, Naruto?"

"Oh, well you should have asked that!" Naruto clapped, "'Cause they look cool, duh," he answered as if it were completely obvious! Feeling tugging on his pants, Naruto looks down to see a mini-Itachi looking at him with his arms up to pick him up. "Aw, look at you!" Naruto cooed, picking him up. Naruto pushed his own cheek to the little chubby one, "Wook awt you!"

Two things had occurred to Itachi at that moment: one being that his chest warmed at the amount of acceptance Naruto was showing to Sasuke, the second being the amount of blood that flew south at the sight of him cooing his child –if Naruto had been a female, then this would be a great reason to have another child. Sadly, the blood stopped in its tracks at the word that came from Sasuke's mouth; "Mommy!"

Naruto blinked and pulled away, blinking rapidly at the child in his arms –noticing that his hair shined in a straight line here and there before disappearing when the boy moved; "Mommy?" Naruto looked to Itachi who looked frozen, "I'm not mommy," Naruto tried to laugh it off, "umm I'm-"

"Papa," Naruto froze when he spoke, Sasuke turned to Itachi, head tilted to the side, "this is Papa, Sasuke. Say it with Daddy," Itachi held a serious face, his finger lying on Sasuke's nose, "Pa-pa, Pa-pa."

"Pa-pa?" Sasuke scrunched up his eyebrows, "Papa?" Itachi smiled –shocking Naruto –and  
nodded, "Papa!" Itachi pointed to Naruto, "Papa!" Sasuke giggled, jumping in Naruto's grasp, a smile on his face.

"Umm, yeah," Naruto said softly, "I'm Papa, Sasu!" Naruto quickly recovered, smiling at the baby in his arms; Sasuke, after understand as much as he can for one as young as him –even with Uchiha genes, looked to the floor then back at the bright blue eyes that showed love and not hate. "You want down?" showing that he understood, Sasuke started to jump in Naruto's grasp, pointing to the ground, "Ok, ok, little guy." Naruto laughed, placing him slowly on the ground before releasing him; watching Sasuke run off to the living room and to the set of toys, Naruto turned to Itachi who was sending him a thankful smile. "What?"

Itachi waved it off, "Nothing," Naruto sent a skeptical look before continuing to unpack the bags.

"Um," Naruto sighed, looking at Itachi from under his bangs, "since you're going to be living here, I guess we should um," he coughed into his hand, Itachi smirking at the awkwardness the blond was creating, "we should catch up on things that have happened since we last saw each other…"

Itachi didn't like the pain that rang from Naruto's voice towards the end of his sentence; closing his eyes, he remembered what he was told when he called a certain red head for an update on Naruto. "When I came back from the 'honeymoon', I was given half of the company under my father; 'to get used to the work load' he told me when I asked," Itachi shook his head, nearly rolling his eyes like he did at that moment, Naruto smiling. "A year later, father started to have heart problems, I took over the company after that; I had thought that it would be temporarily, imagine the shock that I had when he signed me as the new CEO as soon as he got out of the hospital. Sai had just been born right after that, he kept me anchored to my sanity."

"You really didn't like her, did you?" Naruto moved to the kitchen, his arms full of cold goods that were laid on the counter next to the fridge.

"No," Itachi folded the last paper bag, stacking them neatly on the side of the table that wasn't used in the morning, "she pulled me away from you…" '_Even though it was mainly my fault it happened,_' Itachi turned to the kitchen, seeing Naruto staring at him with confusion as he stopped in the middle of restocking the fridge. After a moment or two, Naruto sighed and continued what he was doing; "Anything change with you?"

Closing the door, Naruto looked around the room as he walked to the table, grabbing some more of the food and turned back to the kitchen, placing them in their correct places. "Um, nothing special," he forced a laugh, "well, I did get a job at Sannin, working as a leading manager!" He turned to Itachi, seeing a raised eyebrow and...was that pride shining in his eyes?

"Congratulations," Itachi said, a smile peeking from his thin lips, "I'll make lunch as a late celebration and as a thank you."

Naruto gasped, eyes wide open, "You'll cook?" he nearly shouted, forcing himself to keep his feet on the floor, his mouth watered, remembering the taste of Itachi's cooking.

"Yes," the raven chuckled, "I'll cook," his midnight eyes lighting up at the amount of joy on Naruto's face; "Did anything else happen?" he wished he could take back the words, watching the joy wash off Naruto's face.

"Well," the blond sighed, "since you told me that you were married and now single, I guess it's only fair that I tell you that I did have two other relationships, both ended badly. We either moved too fast, he didn't like my family or was too lazy to something other than sleep," Itachi nodded slowly, "why did you leave like that anyway?" Naruto whispered.

Moving around the island quickly, Itachi pulled Naruto in his arms, resting his head on Naruto's shoulder; Naruto barely able to looked above Itachi's shoulder without standing on the tips of his toes, that didn't matter at the moment, everything was starting to blur. "I did not want to leave, Naruto," Itachi whispered, "I did not want to, an Uchiha never goes back on his word. The night I left, I made love to you, once more. I made sure that I would remember your body enough to get through whoever my parents were forcing me to wed; I wouldn't have left your side if I could have stopped it."

"You still love me?"

"I will always love you, Uzumaki Naruto," Itachi kissed his neck, "I will love you even if you choose someone else, I will love you even if it means that I have to earn your trust and love back. I will always love you," Naruto threw his arms around Itachi, holding him close as he silently wept, the tears falling as he heard the words he craved to hear from this one man. After a handful of minutes, seeming like hours to Naruto and seconds to Itachi, Naruto pulled away, rubbing his puffy red eyes. Trying to lighten the mood, Itachi said softly, "Kurma, what did you do to your hair? Are you trying to be Naruto?" Naruto looked up in shock that lasted a second before he laughed; he didn't laugh at the joke that Itachi said –or attempted to say, but laughed at Itachi for trying to _tell_ a joke.

Taking a deep breath, attempting to stop the giggles, Naruto turned to the table and sighed; "We need to put up the groceries if you're going to cook, Tachi." Naruto blushed at the old nickname he had for the slightly elder man, quickly going around him towards the table before said man could respond. Itachi smiled at Naruto, who was rushing from the table to areas in the kitchen to quicken the pace of sorting the groceries, and followed his lead; after twenty minutes in silence between the two, now and then stopping to listen to what Sasuke was saying and snickering, Itachi placed the last box of cereal in the cabinet. "Yosh!" Naruto huffed, raised a fist in the air, "We're done!" before falling into the stool by the island.

"I'll start cooking," Itachi moved around the kitchen, having seen the items he needed where they were and pulled them out. "When do you get home, Naruto?" Itachi asked, placing a pan on the stove as he lit it up.

"Around four if I get to work by eight," Naruto watched, resting his head on his arms, "why?"

"I get home –at earliest– seven or eight," Itachi said, Naruto sat up, "I don't wish for the children to be alone that long," he glanced to Naruto, showing his worry.

"Natsu should be home little after three, if he doesn't have any club meetings," Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Natsu?" Naruto nodded, "Where is he if he lives here?"

"With Kurma and Menma," Naruto smiled, "we made this silent agreement that Natsu stays with me Monday afternoon to Friday morning when he has school, and then stays with them Friday evening to Monday morning for the weekend until school starts for the week."

Itachi nodded, grabbing some vegetables and chopped them in half before tossing them into the hot pan; "So he'll be home tomorrow?"

"After school," Naruto confirmed, "I just have to tell him that you're here," Itachi nodded.

"Do I have to go to class then, Chichi?" Both jumped at the soft voice that entered the kitchen.

Naruto turned to glare at Itachi which he returned with his smirk, he walked to Sai and picked him up; "I thought you were sleepy?"

Sai yawned and rubbed his eye with his free hand, the other holding onto Itachi's shirt, "Ototo came and woke me up, saying 'Papa'," giving up of trying to keep himself up, he slumped onto the strong chest, "do I have to go to class tomorrow?" Sai asked again.

"Where is your school, Sai?" Naruto walked over to them, his head tilted to the side; raising his hand, he brushed the dark locks away from his half open eyes.

"Near our other home," he whispered, not truly liking Naruto to be touching him; it wasn't that he found it uncomfortable, but it was a touch like his Chichi would give him. It held something in it that he only received fro Itachi.

"Your other home?" Naruto looked up to Itachi, crossing his arms on his chest, "I don't like secrets, Itachi, and you know that."

Itachi sighed and nodded, "I know, I just haven't been able to tell you everything, like you haven't told me everything."

Naruto, clenching his jaw, fought the need to snap at Itachi since his eldest is in his arms and the youngest is barely ten feet from them in the living room. "If the school that Sai went to was near your old home then how will he get there for class tomorrow morning?"

"We'll just have to leave a little earlier than normal, I'll take him to school and bring Sasuke with me to work. That way you'll be able to tell Natsu that the three of us are living here," Itachi answered quietly, slowly rocking his body.

"Wait you lived near your parents, right?" Itachi nodded, "Then, if I remember correctly, your company is in a different direction…?" Itachi nodded once more, "And you plan to make it on time…?"

"Naruto, being CEO means that I can start at any time that I wish as long as it's in the morning before I have any meetings." Itachi said.

"Conceited ass," Naruto huffed, glancing at the sleeping boy; spotting a blob of drool forming, Naruto quickly wiped it away with his finger, "and you plan on taking Sasuke with you?" he asked softly.

"I believe that I can take care of two children, Naruto," Itachi hissed.

"I'm not saying that you can't, Itachi, but it's a near hour drive from here to your job, it'll be a little longer if you drop off Sai. If class starts at eight, then you have to leave before seven to get him there on time, meaning that you be dealing with a fussy baby the whole day because he woke up early." Naruto said, walking back to the stove and finished cooking the vegetables before they started to smoke; "I'll take care of Sasuke, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Class starts at eight thirty," Itachi said, "and it's only thirty minutes from the company."

"Still have to leave at a little before seven, then," Naruto concluded, "but I'm still taking Sasuke for the day," he smiled over his shoulder. "What were you going to do with the meat?"

Itachi turned and walked from the kitchen to the boys' room to lay Sai down on his bed, on his way back to the kitchen he stepped into the living room to see Sasuke knocked out holding onto his stuffed animal, he proceeded to do the same with Sasuke. When he came back to the kitchen, ten minutes after he left, he pulled Naruto from the stove, "I said that I was going to cook," he whispered into the now red ear, "I don't want to be troubling you even more than I am," Itachi finished creating the meal for them.

Naruto pulled out the plates, "No you're not," and set them on the island, "you said that you wanted me to be that other person for your kids, you want me to help you raise them, so by taking Sasuke with me when I go to work doesn't mean that you're asking too much, Tachi"

"I see," Itachi turned to Naruto, turning off the stove, "lunch is ready."

"Oh really now?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at the man, "I wouldn't have known."

Itachi chuckled, taking the pan with the fried vegetables and slices of meat to the island and pouring some onto Naruto's plate then his; when he sat down, Naruto handing him a red set of plastic chopsticks that were stuck together at the top, he heard his phone ring from his room. "You go ahead and start without me," Naruto was about to protest but Itachi had already left the room. When reaching for his phone, he noticed the caller ID; "Father."

"_Son_," a deep voice answered, "_I hope that everything is well for you._"

"Why? Has something happened?" Itachi grew worried about his father's health.

"_Everything is fine, it's about the meeting on the expansion of Uchiha Co. in upper Japan,_" Itachi sat on the bed, thinking that there was no need for anyone to go and visit them, "_I won't be able to attend._"

Or not, "What do you mean?" Itachi scowled.

"_What it sounds like, my son, I won't be able to attend meaning that you will have to go in my place,_" the man answered, unaffected by Itachi's tone.

"What?" Itachi hissed, not liking where this was heading.

"_I know that there is no one to watch the boys, so your mother and I will take care of them until you return Thursday._"

'_Dear Kami, Naruto is going to kill me!_' "There is no need for that, father, I have found someone willing to take care of the boys for me." Itachi laid down on the bed, his free hand covering his eyes, his mind showing Naruto caring for the boys.

"_Oh? Uzumaki, correct?_" Fugaku asked softly, he knew the soft spot that Itachi held for the blond man; after all, he was the man who revealed it and used it against his own son.

Itachi closed his eyes, "Hai."

"_I understand,_" a smirk could be heard through the phone, "_be sure to tell him that if he needs anything, for him to call._"

"Hai," Itachi tossed the phone onto his bed behind him, groaning at how he was supposed to tell Naruto that he was leaving in a few hours. He walked back to the kitchen, seeing Naruto getting his second helping –or his third– when he walked in, Naruto saw him when he was going back to his seat. "Now I really am going to be asking much from you, Naruto," he said, Naruto put his plate on the table and waited for Itachi to continue, "Father called me," he started, "I'll be going on a trip night and be returning Thursday evening, hopefully."

For a few minutes, Naruto stared at Itachi before sitting down in his seat and started to eat. Not knowing if this was a good or bad reaction, Itachi sat by him whispering his thanks before eating as well. "Four days?" Naruto asked quietly, Itachi made a grunt, "What am I going to be doing for four days, Itachi? How is Sai going to go to school?" Naruto sighed, tossing the chopsticks onto the plate.

"I apologize, I had no idea that this would be occurring," Itachi said softly, his hand reaching up tentatively to Naruto's back, rubbing in slow circles, "I know that I don't have to take my assistant with me, and he already knows where the school is."

"So?" Naruto sighed, looking at Itachi through the side, "what's your point?"

"Both the boys know him, I can ask if he'll take Sai to school until I get back, he'll have to be running the company until I return anyway." Itachi saw the hopeful look in his eyes.

Naruto gave a small smile, "Ok, then what about the rest of the week?"

* * *

*Sasuke -in this story- has dark blue or navy eyes, the reason for that is because of who the other parent is.

*Oba - Aunt

I have changed a few things, such as Hinata crushing on Naruto -hint to why she is not shacking or anything- and with a certain pink hair person. I was messaged about Natsu, and I had it in the outline that he would be appearing -originally in this chapter- but will be coming out -hopefully- in the next chapter. I am half way through the next chapter at the moment, but don't expect it to show up soon, ok? I'm starting to learn how to drive, and if I'm in the hospital I'll have something to do while there... I really don't trust myself, guys, oh well! Hopefully you'll hear from me in awhile!

Please, don't forget to review this lovely story!

~yolies


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